Joe Egan

Joe Egan was born and raised in Bolton. He was educated at Thornleigh College and then took joint honours in Sociology and Economic History at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

After University, with a yen to travel, he spent several years working as a waiter in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and France before setting off, with a university friend, to travel overland through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Malaysia to Australia where he spent fifteen months. Following three months in New Zealand, where he learnt to ski, he flew through the islands Fiji, Tahiti and Easter Island to South America. He then spent ten months travelling in South and Central America before returning via the USA

Thirty years of age and in need of a “proper” job he enrolled for two years at Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham (as it then was) doing solicitors exams before starting articles in Bolton. He was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 1982. He set up Joe Egan Solicitors in 1986. This is now a three partner High Street firm with 24 employees. Originally specialising in Crime, he obtained Higher Rights in 1996. However, having done a number of jury trials and appeared in the Court of Appeal, the needs of the firm meant that he moved on to dealing with accident and civil litigation work.

He was for many years the Joint Honorary Secretary of Bolton Law Society and served as its President in 2010. In 2002 he was President of the Association of North Western Law Societies. He was elected to the Council of the national law society in 2006 where he represented solicitors in Lancashire and Greater Manchester. He served as national president in 2017-18 travelling the world representing The Law Society.

Over the years, he has served on the boards of the Octagon, Bolton College and the Citizens Advice Bureau where for many years he was chair.

Now semi-retired, he still practices mainly civil law including matrimonial work and watches the Wanderers.